A masterpiece. The historical dramas of Zhang Yimou, a master
"Fifth Generation" filmmaker who emerged from the reopened Beijing Film Academy
during the liberal climate of the early 1980s, resonate with subtexts of
repression, resistance and retribution. Though Zhang's screenplay for RAISE
THE RED LANTERN (based on the 1989 novel Wives and Concubines by Su Tong)
got a stamp of approval from the Chinese censors, the finished production was
banned at home while playing to great praise abroad.

Almost all of this superbly rendered tragedy takes place within the confines of
the Master's vast estate, and Zhang Yimou uses a mostly stationary camera to
frame the characters within careful compositions of doorways, portals, canopies
and courtyards; the severe, rigid style effectively turns the sumptuous
residence into a metaphorical prison compound. As bleak as the material sounds,
there is a certain sardonic humor, mostly from the spirited Meishan and even the
Master himself, who's absolutely baffled as to why his spouses seem so
discontented.

This sumptuously shot $1 million production was financed by Taiwanese interests
through a Hong Kong intermediary, and it was Hong Kong that submitted RAISE
THE RED LANTERN as its official candidate for the 1992 Academy Award for
best foreign language film, a move disapproved by Beijing. out
of

ADDITION: MGM - Region 1 - NTSC - July
07': NOTE:
We replaced the original ERA edition screen captures, into the middle
position, with the new MGM. The ERA was easily usurped by its remastered
predecessor.

The new MGM edition has the same color
scheme and framing as the remastered ERA - probably inferring that is
from the same source print. Both are progressive, anamorphic and dual-layered.
Differences? it seems to have come from a film source as opposed to
analog and skin tones may be slightly more true. It probably has had
nothing done to it digitally (no boosted black/red levels) and hence
appears slightly less sharp. Audio is standard (Dolby Mandarin) but
subtitles may be superior on the MGM - not understanding the language I
can't be positive but strongly suspect it. Supplements go the way of the
ERA (it has a trailer and photo gallery) as the MGM offers nothing. All
of these differences are fairly minor but as the ERA seems to have
vanished from e-tailors (well, YesAsia anyway) the $15 MGM is the way to
go. I wasn't expecting any extras but the film surely deserves a
commentary and more. Shame. At least MGM didn't screw up the transfer.
It looks quite acceptable.

***

ADDITION: ERA
(RE-Mastered version) July 06'- Well, I was very skeptical when news of
this release was reported - and I almost didn't bother buying, but we
received some evidence from fellow Beavers to support inclusion in this
comparison and (drum roll please)... it IS by far the best! Firstly, this
new DVD is both progressive, anamorphic and dual-layered. Colors and detail
are superior and the optional subtitles are the least intrusive of the
three. The new 'Re-Mastered' edition from ERA appears to have almost no
contrast manipulation and few, if any, obviously visible artifacts. It is
darker, but that is usually and excellent sign that it is adhering to the
source print. It has been transferred at approximately 1.85 aspect ratio.
There is a slim black border around the edges - slightly limiting horizontal
resolution. The bitrate suggests that it is probably not taken from a film
source - most likely analog. Now, this is not Criterion image quality, but
it is not bad at all. It is easily the best digital representation of this
film currently available.

Brian tells us: 'The subtitles have
sensible translations. My “sensible,” I mean that the translations are
grammatically correct and they seem to fit correctly (from what I
remember about it, when watching it when it was broadcast on cable a few
years ago). I noticed one typo, “slepped” instead of “slipped” but it
wasn’t distracting.' (Thanks Brian!)

There is, at least, an attempt at
extras. There is a photo gallery and trailer for the film included on
the Re-Mastered DVD. Even the menus are superior. So, this is an easy
choice - the price is exceptional at $13. We strongly recommend and am
extremely happy that ERA have leap-frogged into a better DVD-production
category with this release.

***

Just when you were sure things couldn't
get worse. Both issues are rife with flaws - extensive contrast boosting
on the Razor - a horrible non-progressive transfer - I can't tell why the
film is 5 minutes short - and shows rounded corners. On the ERA front -
the dual burned-in subtitles would have been a deal-breaker but the image
quality, detail and colors are far superior to the Razor - occasionally
the ERA looks vertically stretched - appears to be cropped -
it has no extras (neither does the Razor) or menus.

Taking price into account we can't help but
recommend the ERA (NOTE: It has a different cover now at YesAsia but its
the same transfer).

It is almost hard to believe that this
film, which radiates such intense depth, is still left totally
unacceptable on the digital front. What a crazy world.

NOTE: The RE-Mastered ERA edition has
this warning screen. And I, for one, am very thrilled that all these profiteers
who have been showing "Raise the Red Lantern" on Oil Rigs will hopefully
be deterred.